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The Prom
" " is the twentieth episode of the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer television show, and is the fifty-fourth episode in the series. It was written by Marti Noxon and directed by David Solomon. It originally broadcast on May 11, 1999 on The WB network. Synopsis DEVIL IN A PROM DRESS — Spring has definitely sprung in Sunnydale as talk turns to all things Prom, and while Buffy and Angel grapple with the impossibility of a future together, she is determined on keeping a villain intent on crashing the Prom from ruining her friends' perfect high school moment. Meanwhile, a chance encounter between Xander and Cordelia may have reopened their lines of communication, but he is saddled with a demonic Prom date, while Cordy only has eyes for the new watcher Wesley."The Mortuary". Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Archived from the original February 15, 2001. Summary Buffy wakes up in Angel's bed at the mansion after the two fell asleep after patrol. Buffy talks about bringing some of her stuff over, "like couples do", and casually mentions going to the prom. At school, Anya, still a mortal human being, asks Xander to the prom. Both of them are dateless and desperate, so he says yes. Later, Buffy, Willow, Oz, and Xander discuss prom plans and dresses. Joyce visits Angel at the mansion and tells him she's worried about the effect he's having on her daughter. She tells him that he can't get in the way of her future, and if Buffy can't see that, he'll have to do something about it. Buffy and Willow are talking prom dresses while Giles is continuing research for the Ascension. Using the pages that Willow ripped out of the Books of Ascension, it's been determined that, upon graduation day, Richard Wilkins will transform into a demon. However, what kind of demon he will transform into is still unknown, and there's no further information at this point. As a result, the discussion moves onto the prom. Giles and Wesley will both be chaperoning, which Buffy says is going to be the one and possibly last night of fun they'll have in Sunnydale. Meanwhile, in a small house, someone plays a video for a caged dog-beast that causes it to freak out. Buffy and Angel are in a church getting married. As they exit the church, Angel is fearful of the sun, but it is Buffy that burns up when the sun shines on them. Angel awakes from the dream, worried. While patrolling, Buffy and Angel head into a sewer in pursuit of a vampire as Buffy asks him what he's planning to wear to the prom. However, Angel isn't interested, and snaps that there's more important things to worry about. After Buffy talks about how the prom and graduation are part of growing up, Angel finally tells her that they need to talk. He tells her that it's unfair for her to be in a relationship with him because of all the things he can't give her, so he breaks up with her and tells her he doesn't want to be with her. Buffy refuses to accept this at first; she asks him how she's expected to keep away from him, and Angel tells her than he's going to leave town after the Ascension. At home, Buffy tells Willow about the break up and realizes that Angel was right; the two of them really can't be together. Despite the realization, she's heartbroken, and she cries on Willow's lap. At April Fools, Xander spots Cordelia through the window and goes in to tease her about taking too long to choose a prom dress. However, he's stopped short when an assistant chides Cordelia for speaking to a friend while on the clock. Cordelia then reveals that because of her father's twelve year long tax fraud, she's now working there to save up for a prom dress on layaway. Her family has no money, nowhere to live, and she can't afford to go to any of the colleges that accepted her. Xander is lost for words, while Cordelia says that he can now go tell everyone that he now has a one-up on her. Suddenly, one of the beasts, now free from its cage, jumps through the window. It initially goes after Xander, but it spots and attacks a guy trying on a tux, then leaves. At the library, the gang study the video of the attack as Buffy mopes in the background, distracted by her recent breakup. Wesley asks what Cordelia was doing in the store with Xander, and as Cordy struggles for a response, Xander covers by simply claiming they were sniping at each other as usual. Cordelia notices that the beast has a preference for people in formal wear, and Giles and Wesley recognize it as a hellhound, a vicious demon foot soldier bred for war. Someone who appears to be controlling the hellhound is then spotted on the tape. It turns out that the person is Tucker Wells, who Oz knew from a chemistry class. Tucker has plans to ruin prom night by sending a hellhound into the prom, trained to attack people in formal wear. Willow, Xander, and Oz all bemoan the fact that they're going to have to skip the prom, and this snaps Buffy out of her funk. She declares that she won't let one jerk ruin the prom for her friends, and she will do whatever it takes to preserve her class's special night. Buffy then issues orders for everyone to split up and search for clues. She ends up finding an address at the butcher, a place Tucker frequents to get food for his hounds. She runs into Angel, and the two have a post-breakup argument. As Cordelia leaves work, upset that she wasn't able to cover the cost of her prom dress, her co-worker tells her it's already been paid for. Buffy returns from her searching and orders everyone else to attend the prom while she takes care of the hounds. She tells Giles that Angel is leaving town, and while she's upset her main focus now is stopping the hellhound. She finds Tucker in his basement and confronts him. Tucker refuses to divulge his reasons for his vicious plan, though it's revealed in a flashback that he was rejected by the girl he asked. Buffy ties him up before he can release the hound, but soon finds out that there are more demons, three of which are en route to the school. Buffy rushes to Sunnydale High and, after a few close calls, manages to kill all of the demons. Buffy changes into her prom dress and shows up for the dance. Cordelia clings to Wesley but not before thanking Xander for paying for her prom dress, ending the rift between them. Later, Anya tells Xander of her history of cursing men in long and graphic detail, while Willow and Oz just enjoy the evening. When class awards are given out, Xander is snubbed for Class Clown. Jonathan goes up to the microphone and asks if Buffy is present. Everyone turns towards her as a spotlight shines on Buffy at the punch bowl. Jonathan reads a speech in which the Prom Committee acknowledges that they know a lot on unusual and weird stuff goes on at the school, and they also know that Buffy was always trying to protect them from it. They know that she's protected and saved almost all of the people present at the dance, contributing to the 1999 graduating class's record breaking low mortality rate in Sunnydale High history. He then announces that the senior class wishes to offer its thanks by awarding Buffy the first ever Class Protector Award, complete with a umbrella trophy. Buffy, stunned and smiling, walks through all the cheering crowd, and receives her award. Afterwards, the students enjoy the rest of the dance. Anya dances with Xander and finds herself not minding a bit, while Giles tells Wesley to stop worrying and ask Cordelia to dance. Buffy walks over to Giles, and he congratulates her on her work on getting rid of the hellhounds. He also expresses his surprise that the class could be so gracious. Buffy tells him that people can surprise you sometimes. Looking toward the door, Giles sees something, and holds Buffy's award for her. She turns and sees Angel standing there in a tux. He tells her he understands that it's an important night for her, but it doesn't change anything between them. Buffy accepts this, and the two dance. Continuity *This episode marks the end of Buffy and Angel's relationship. He would leave Sunnydale after the "Graduation Day, Part Two", and start the spin-off Angel. *Buffy achieves the high school moment she dreamed of ("Homecoming") and was floored to be recognized by her peers for her work. *We learn in this episode that Cordelia's father was guilty of tax fraud of some sort, reducing her family to near poverty. This change eventually leads to her migration to LA, where she will team up with Angel in "City Of". *When Anya asks Xander to the prom, she references the events of "Lovers Walk" and "The Wish". *Tucker Wells has an even more obscure brother, Andrew, who will become prevalent in the series from his debut in "Flooded", eventually becoming part of the Scooby Gang until the end of the series. *Buffy states that Angel is 243 years old. Since he became a vampire in 1753, by 1999 he would have been a vampire for 246 years. She also doesn't account for his 26 years of life before becoming a vampire, making him 272. *Up until this point, it was normal for civilians in the series to not mention the supernatural events that they experience. Giles explained this as the ability of people to "rationalize what they can and forget what they can't" ("The Harvest"). This episode is the first time that the students of Sunnydale High openly show awareness of the supernatural events at their school. While Buffy is presented with the Class Protector Award, students shout out "zombies" ("Dead Man's Party") and "hyena people" ("The Pack") as examples. Appearances Individuals *Angel *Mr. Chase *Cordelia Chase *Finkle *Rupert Giles *Alexander Harris *Harv *Anya Jenkins *Jonathan Levinson *Jack Mayhew *Daniel Osbourne *Rhonda *Willow Rosenberg *Buffy Summers *Joyce Summers *Tucker Wells *Richard Wilkins *Wesley Wyndam-Pryce *Unidentified girl (The Prom) *Unidentified priest (The Prom) Organizations and titles *Class of '99 *Scooby Gang *Slayer Species *Demon **Hellhound *Human *Primal *Vampire *Zombie Locations *Sunnydale **1630 Revello Drive **Chase residence **Crawford Street mansion **Maple Court ***April Fools ***Decker Hardware ***Meyer Sports and Tackle **Sunnydale High School **Wells' residence Weapons and objects *Books of Ascension *Class Protector Award *Stake Rituals and spells *Ascension Death count *One vampire, dusted by Buffy. *Tux Boy, killed by a Hellhound. *One Hellhound, killed by Buffy with a crossbow. *One Hellhound, killed by Buffy with a knife. *One Hellhound, neck snapped by Buffy. Behind the scenes Production *In the scene where Angel breaks up with Buffy, Sarah Michelle Gellar has admitted that she "could not stop crying," and the set was closed for 25 minutes to allow her to recover. *Jessica Johnson, the winner of the "A Buffy Christmas" sweepstakes, participated in this episode. *Buffy's prom dress was designed by Pamela Dennis, while Vera Wang designed her wedding dress. Incidentally, Wang also designed Gellar's wedding dress in 2002. Broadcast *Because "Earshot"'s premiere was delayed out of respect for the Columbine massacre victims and their families, viewers at the time were unaware of Buffy stopping Jonathan from committing suicide. The fact that Buffy saved his life makes his presentation of the Class Protector Award to her even more significant. Deleted scenes *This exchange was cut due to length: :Giles: "Fine. You're all suffering from a touch of spring madness, if you ask me." :Oz: "Mine is more space madness. But I'll feel better once I get used to the weightlessness." :Willow: "Promise me you'll never be linear." :Oz: "On my trout." Pop culture references *The movies Tucker Wells uses to train the hellhounds to attack the prom include: Carrie, Prom Night, Prom Night IV: Deliver us from Evil, Pump up the Volume, Pretty in Pink, and The Club (1994). *Xander's "Sock Puppet of Love" routine is reminiscent of Señor Wences, a ventriloquist who would draw a face on his hand and speak through it with a funny voice. *Buffy's line "miles to go before we sleep" is a verse from the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" (1922). Goofs, bloopers & continuity errors *At the prom, when Giles and Wesley are at the snack table, Wesley is holding a red napkin. When it cuts to Cordelia walking in, Wesley chokes and says "the salsa is hot." In this shot, the napkin is now yellow. International titles *'Armenian:' "Ավարտական պարահանդես" (Graduation Ball) *'Czech:' "Maturitní ples" (Graduation Ball) *'Finnish:' "Tanssiaiset" (Prom) *'French:' "Les Chiens de l'Enfer" (The Hell Hounds) *'German:' "Der Höllenhund" (The Hellhound) *'Hungarian:' "Az iskolai bál" (The School Ball) *'Italian:' "Il Ballo" (The Ball) *'Japanese:' "Prom Party" (プロムパーティ) *'Polish:' "Bal absolwentów" (Graduation Ball) *'Portuguese (Brazil):' "O Baile de Formatura" (The Graduation Ball) *'Romanian:' "Banchetul" (Banquet) *'Russian:' "Выпускной бал" (Graduation Ball) *'Spanish (Latin America):' "El Baile de Graduación" (The Graduation Ball) *'Spanish (Spain):' "El Baile de Fin de Curso" (The Ball of End of Course) Music *Christophe Beck — "Class Protector" *Christophe Beck — "Deadly Beloved" *Christophe Beck — "The Beginning of the End" *Cracker — "The Good Life" *Fatboy Slim — "Praise You" *Kool & The Gang — "Celebration" *Prince — "1999" *Sister Sledge — "We Are Family" *The Lassie Foundation — "El Rey" *The Sundays — "Wild Horses" Adaptations *This episode is included in The Slayer Collection: Cordelia DVD. *The novel "Sunnydale High Yearbook" includes mentions and pictures of events from this episode. *Two ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' action figures were based on Buffy and Angel during the prom. *The "Big Bads & Monsters Adult Coloring Book" features an illustrated of the hellhounds running to the prom. *The song "Wild Horses" by The Sundays was included in The Album. *This episode's original score was included in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Soundtrack Collection. Gallery Promotional stills The Prom Angel Buffy 01.jpg The Prom Angel Buffy 03.jpg The Prom Angel Buffy 04.jpg The Prom Angel Buffy 05.jpg The Prom Angel Buffy 02.jpg The Prom Buffy Angel 01.jpg The Prom Buffy Angel 02.jpg The Prom Buffy 01.jpg The Prom Buffy Oz Willow.jpg The Prom Oz Willow.jpg The Prom Oz Willow 02.jpg The Prom Buffy 02.jpg The Prom Buffy 03.jpg The Prom Buffy 04.jpg The Prom Buffy Giles.jpg The Prom Angel Buffy 07.jpg Behind the scenes The Prom Buffy 05.jpg The Prom Angel Buffy 06.jpg The Prom Crawford Boreanaz.jpg The Prom hellhound.jpg The Prom Gellar.jpg The Prom Gellar Green Hannigan.jpg Buffy 3x20 The Prom Anya And Xander.jpg The Prom Gellar Green Hannigan 02.jpg The Prom Gellar Green Hannigan 03.jpg The Prom Gellar Green Hannigan 04.jpg Advertisement The Prom promo.jpg|"Prom night in Sunnydale: Someone's planning to sabotage the party. But Buffy has a little plan of her own." Quotes :Anya: "You know, you can laugh, but I have witnessed a millennium of treachery and oppression from the males of the species. And I have nothing but contempt for the whole libidinous lot of them." :Xander: "Then why are you talking to me?" :Anya: "I don't have a date for the prom." :Xander: "Well, gosh. I wonder why not? It couldn't have anything to do with your sales pitch." :Anya: "Men are evil. Will you go with me?" :Xander: "One of us is very confused, and I honestly don't know which." :Joyce: "I don't have to tell you that you and Buffy come from different worlds." :Angel: "No, you don't." :Joyce: "She's had to deal with a lot, grow up fast. Sometimes even I forget that she's still just a girl." :Angel: "And I'm old enough to be her ancestor." :Joyce: "She's just starting out in life." :Angel: "I know. I think about it more now that she's staying in Sunnydale." :Joyce: "Good. Because when it comes to you, Angel, she's just like any other young woman in love. You're all she can see of tomorrow. But I think we both know that there are some hard choices ahead. If she can't make them, you're gonna have to. I know you care about her. I just hope you care enough." :Oz: "Once again, the Hellmouth puts the 'special' in 'special occasion'." :Wesley: "Mr. Giles. I'd like your opinion. While the last thing I want to do is model bad behaviour in front of impressionable youth, I wonder if asking Miss Chase to dance would-" :Giles: "For God's sake, man, she's eighteen. And you have the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone. Just have at it, would you, and stop fluttering about." :Wesley: "Right, then. Thanks for that." :Jonathan: "We have one more award to give out. Is Buffy Summers here tonight? Did she, um... This is actually a new category. First time ever. I guess there were a lot of write-in ballots, and, um, well, t-the prom committee asked me to read this. 'We're not good friends. Most of us never found the time to get to know you, but that doesn't mean we haven't noticed you. We don't talk about it much, but it's no secret that Sunnydale High isn't really like other high schools. A lot of weird stuff happens here.'" :Student #1: "Zombies!" :Student #2: "Hyena people!" :Student #3: "Snyder!" :Jonathan: "'But whenever there was a problem or something creepy happened, you seemed to show up and stop it. Most of the people here have been saved by you or helped by you at one time or another. We're proud to say that the class of '99 has the lowest mortality rate of any graduating class in Sunnydale history, and we know at least part of that is because of you.' So the senior class offers its thanks and gives you, uh, uh, this. It's from all of us, and it has written here, 'Buffy Summers, Class Protector'." References de:Der Höllenhund es:El baile de fin de curso fr:Les Chiens de l'enfer nl:The Prom Category:Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes Category:Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 3